Falling out of love with the Albion.

[Napper]

Chances are there are many many on here that never went to Gillingham for whatever reason, or perhaps lost faith in the later Goldstone years.
Question is, have you ever fallen out with love with the Albion and how long did this last ?

I must admit I was dismayed in the Gillingham years and prob only attended half the games. The love was properly rekindled when we came home, although I find this being tested at the moment

 

[Scoffers]

Love is not to be cast asside, love is love, no matter what

 

[Trigger]

Fell out of 'love' during the McGhee years, never really got it back since if I'm honest, going to games is just like a very expensive chore, the good thing about chores though is they can be left until you feel like doing them.

 

[Taybha]

Never have Never will

 

[philsussex]

What are we on now - something like 23,000 STH's?

How times have changed

 

[severnside gull]

"..............being tested at the moment"

Wow! Hard to please

 

[Eggmundo]

Gillingham was an adventure!

Withdean was a chore. Wet Tuesday nights after a crap performance with a crap atmosphere in a crap 'ground' surrounded by people more into baiting the stewards than watching the game, that was a struggle.

But falling out of love...never.

 

[Captain Sensible]

I fell out of love with football for a while, but never ever the Albion.

 

[kevo]

Gillingham was awful but there was something about the spirit of defiance in going there. Some of the seasons at Withdean were a bit bleak. I live in London and travelling there to sit in the rain on a freezing Tuesday evening was not much fun. Gave up my season ticket for a couple of years, and dropped to about a dozen or so home games a season (although probably did more away games to compensate...)

 

[Drumstick]

Loved the Albion since birth, these times are amazing and I'm loving it it's unbelievable and so exciting.

Shit times (relatively) will return so enjoy it as it lasts we have our club back and it is fantastic.

 

[ozzygull]

"..............being tested at the moment"

Wow! Hard to please

I thought that when I first saw this thred, then looked at the date of the post and it makes more sense.

 

[severnside gull]

I thought that when I first saw this thred, then looked at the date of the post and it makes more sense.

time for bed!

Missed that completely.......................................not sure if I am impressed that someone should resurrect an obscure post four years later or saddened

 

[Scoffers]

Did I really say that back in 2008, I mean it is true but a bit soft

 

[StonehamPark]

The winter wind & rain at Withdean in the bowels of League Two. Nearly threw in the towel.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

Supported Albion from the mid sixties until late seventies and then joined the Forces. On returning to the area we were at Gillingham and I just couldn't be arsed. The romance had gone, she'd been sullied by many other men and, to be honest, had had her best years. I trawled around West & South London watching the prettey ones .... Chelsea, Fulham, Palace, Charlton & even ventured up to Watford & Tottenham. My Son was 15, at the time, and started supporting Palace and I went to TWO Play Off Finals and supported them. It was dirty, it was wrong, it was evil but it gave me my football fix. I wasn't hooked but I came so close, closer than you lucky people will ever know.

Common sense prevailed and I finished my awful affair, I finally saw her for the whore she was. I came back to the old lady I'd always loved, although she'd become a bit tired, lost some of her sparkle and the years hadn't helped her looks, she was mine. She lived in a dirty flat, it lacked charm and was bloody freezing but there was a magic, an unexplainable spark had been ignited.

After ten years of romance all was well, we'd fallen out, we had our ups and downs but I was comfortable, content even. We had a great weekend in South Wales and a couple of other great nights at Withdean but now she'd put the effort in. She shed some of the baggage years of neglect had forced upon her and set about shaping herself up.

She moved to a different part of town, tried out a new look and, I have to say, gained many new admirers. I knew then that the last ten years had been worth it and we were now set to grow old together.

Binfest commence .... as only NSC can

 

[catfish]

The years of crap make what we have now seem even more precious.

 

[jackanada]

Firstly - I am very impressed by bumping a thread from 2008. When there are many on this forum who won't even check the 1st page of posts before starting a new thread that is a worthwhile statement of intent.
Secondly, and in reply to the OP. I have to confess to being a JCB (Johnny come back). I first went to the Goldstone courtesy of some free tickets through school in the early 80's, and continued to go to just a few matches a season up to the beginning of our exile. This coincided with my own moving away from brighton, and for many of the gillingham and then withdean years I would make a few away trips each season that worked out in terms of my location and that of some of my friends. I couldn't really call myself a fan with that level of attendance but when the subject was raised I had always given Brighton as my club, and found the thought of their demise upsetting. Signing petitions, letter writing and making the odd contribution to the club I was always well behind.
Eventually light began to appear at the end of the tunnel (for the long term survival of the club, not just those joyous moments of monumental overachievement at the withdean)and also I had moved back to Brighton. I would went to more games at the theatre of trees and then the news came through that we would once again have a real home.(I'm shortening the story for dramatic effect, there were too many false dawns to recount in their entirety) I had not realised how much I wanted this until it happened. I danced a jig and realised that the stars had aligned in my favour: We would have a stadium, I was living locally and I was financially stable (for me quite rare), If a burning bush had formed the words "season ticket" it could not have been clearer. I admit freely I had neglected the club, certainly compared to those glorious few who braved Gillingham and signed on for the full quota of Withdean, but riding their coat-tails I beat the bush telegraph until I found a long term STH and with their assistance secured my small part of our future.

I have rambled, so looking back at the OP and his question, have I ever fallen out of love with the albion the answer is this: No I have not, but I did not realise until it was almost too late that I did love her (is a club like a ship? and always a she?) and will always be grateful that she was saved, for that would be a terrible, terrible regret to be burdened with.

Thankyou to all those that kept the faith and kept fighting, thank you to Dick Knight for all his work keeping the club alive, and thank you to Tony Bloom for finally giving us a home.

 

[Hastings woody]

Always loved the albion no matter where we've played. especially away games to the little places i may have never seen if we didn't have tought times. like Exeter,luton,yeovil,lincoln city,brentford, etc etc, great memories.

 

[kevo]

in reply to the OP. I have to confess to being a JCB (Johnny come back).

JCB - I like that. I wonder what proportion of the fans often accused on here of being JCLs are actually JCBs? The majority I'd have thought. We are now getting back to the attendance levels we had in the late 70s (and will probably exceed that once the stadium is expanded to its full capacity). A lot of those people who drifted away (at least those who are still with us!) are coming back, and good for them.

 

[Icy Gull]

A few games into MA mark 2. Used to wonder why I bothered to go within 20 minutes. By the time he was sacked I'd pretty well stopped going. Nothing to do with the results either, I just felt that he was so clueless that I couldn't be arsed to watch as all I did was moan.